Unbreakable spirit to make Kilimanjaro climb

ÂAnna Curry and her father, Ashley Curry, took many hikes at Oak Mountain State Park while training to climb Mount Kilimanjaro to raise money and awareness about brittle bone disease. "Everybody has their own issues to deal with," said Anna Curry, who has the disease and has broken hundreds of bones over the years. "I've always said I would never trade my life and my body for anyone else's, and I do mean that." (Special to The Birmingham News)

Woman has battled brittle bones since before birth

Anna Curry embarks today on her latest adventure, and it's somehow fitting that this one takes her to Africa to climb Mount Kilimanjaro.

After all, the 29-year-old Curry, who has brittle bone disease, has faced an uphill battle all her life. Through the years, she has endured hundreds of broken bones and surgeries too numerous to count.

But Curry has climbed all of her mountains the same way she'll approach this one: one step at a time. And so far -- as the song goes -- "ain't no mountain high enough" to keep her from reaching her goals.

"I hope this won't be the one that does me in," Curry said with a laugh. "I've always liked to find a challenge and try to take it on. I'm just going to do what I can do. I'm certain that any injury I might get won't be the worst that I've had."

Curry, who stands 4 feet 5 inches tall, has osteogenesis imperfecta, a genetic bone disorder. She and her father, Ashley Curry, will board a plane today and will start tackling Kilimanjaro, the highest free-standing mountain in the world, on Monday to raise money and awareness about the disease.

They've already exceeded their fundraising goal of $19,400, which is about a dollar for each foot of the mountain at its highest peak. Two days ago, donations made to the Osteogenesis Imperfecta Foundation on their behalf totaled $22,625.

"I thought it would be interesting to find something that would be a real challenge for someone with OI -- or actually for anyone," said Curry, who serves on the foundation's board of directors.

And as someone who has broken bones by one wrong step on a curb or the simple act of putting on a Sunday dress as a child, Curry is no stranger to challenges.

Her first breaks occurred while she was still in her mother's womb. "When I was born, I was clutching my left leg, it looked like my hip was dislocated, and I appeared to be in a lot of pain," Curry said.

X-rays showed that both legs were broken, and since they were already beginning to heal, doctors knew the breaks didn't occur during delivery.

Two weeks later, she was diagnosed with the disorder that affects 20,000 to 50,000 Americans.

"The common wisdom at the time was that you put your child on a pillow and don't let her do anything," Curry said. "Fortunately, my parents didn't adhere to that school of thought."

150-200 breaksAshley and Marga Curry were stunned when they heard the diagnosis. "The fact that she survived birth was incredible," Ashley Curry said. "Then we were told she wouldn't survive, period, much less ever walk."

The family moved from Tampa to Birmingham so Anna could be treated by Dr. Kurt Niemann, who was head of orthopedics at Children's Hospital and UAB Hospital. Niemann, who died in 2005, was Anna's doctor for 25 years.

He gave them two options: Keep Anna in a wheelchair so she wouldn't get hurt or let her live her life and address the breaks as they came.

"That's the approach we took," Ashley Curry said. "Early on, we talked about what it would take for her to survive. My wife and I both felt like she was going to have to be tough."

And tough she is. Growing up in Vestavia Hills, Curry played softball like all of her friends. "I remember breaking two bones in one game," she said. "But I also remember walking to the plate and thinking, 'I'm going to knock this out of the park.' I never once felt like I was the weak link on the team."

Curry said they stopped counting the broken bones at 100, when she was 11 or 12. "A conservative estimate is between 150 and 200," she said. "A lot of times, at checkups, X-rays showed fractures I didn't even know I'd had. There was no way to keep track."

Despite the obstacles, Curry graduated from Vestavia Hills High School with a perfect 4.0 grade point average. At Vanderbilt University, she was coxswain for the men's crew team and served on the student government association. She went to law school at the University of Alabama and lived in Australia for six months as an exchange student.

And after practicing law in Atlanta for three years, Curry recently joined the Birmingham firm Littler Mendelson as a labor and employment attorney.

"My parents have a lot of courage themselves in allowing me to do the things I've wanted to do and not holding me back because it's easier," she said. "I owe them a lot. The life I have is due to them."

Wheelchair ideaBut as supportive as her parents and older brother, Stuart, have always been, even they were a little taken aback in January 2007 when she first mentioned the idea to climb Kilimanjaro. The fact that she was in a wheelchair recovering from back-to-back major orthopedic surgeries have had something to do with it.

"I'd toyed with the idea for a while, and after my surgeries, I set this climb as a goal to help me get through physical therapy and walking independently again," Curry said.

Her family quickly caught her excitement, and soon her father came on board for the trip as well. "We have literally done this together every step of the way," she said.

Curry spent much of 2007 recovering from her surgeries, and the father-daughter duo began training in earnest in 2008. They've hiked many miles at Oak Mountain State Park. Ashley Curry biked and ran while Anna hit the pool. Together, they've climbed the football stadium stairs at Vestavia Hills High School more times than either cares to count.

"My hat is off to anyone who does that on a regular basis," Curry said. "That is miserable."

Climbing Kilimanjaro is expected to take seven days, and the descent should take two more, Curry said. Her father will celebrate his 60th birthday just a few days after they are scheduled to reach the summit, which will give them another reason to celebrate.

"Kilimanjaro is difficult because of the altitude, but it's not a technical climb," Curry said. "Altitude sickness can strike anyone and can be dangerous. The terrain may be a little difficult for me, because we may be climbing over rocks or walking on loose ones. A simple ankle turn can result in a broken bone for me."

So is she scared at all? "A little," she admitted. "I'm not sure how I'll do with the camping and the cold weather. I'm not really outdoorsy. I don't remember the last time I went camping."

Just another climb

The secret, Curry said, will be keeping her focus. "I'm certain I'll be tired and cold and probably sore," she said. "It's when I'm very tired that I tend to be not as focused on my walking and I tend to have a fall or trip over things. I'll have to be very careful and take it slowly."

Both father and daughter agree that just taking the first step will be a victory. "She's probably in the best physical shape she has been in in several years, and for that, I am very grateful," Ashley Curry said.

"We don't know what will happen over there, but it's already a success. Anna is an incredible person, and this is a remarkable feat. But to her, it's no big deal."

In fact, it's just one more mountain to climb, one step at a time. "There have been times I've thought, 'Can I really make it to the top of that mountain?'" Curry said. "But you know, I still don't see why not."

Anna and Ashley Curry gathered with friends and family for a send-off party this week. The father-daughter duo leave today for Amsterdam and will fly to Africa on Saturday. On Monday, they will begin climbing Mount Kilimanjaro. (The Birmingham News / Hal Yeager)